Taphonomy and Zooarchaeology of a Mousterian Faunal Assemblage from La Quina, Charente, France

Chase, Philip G.; Armand, Dominique; Debenath, André; Dibble, Harold L.; Jelinek, Arthur J.

doi:10.2307/530332

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Researchers interested in the subsistence behaviors of Pleistocene hominids have typically focused on the patterns, placement, and frequency of cut marks and percussion marks on faunal remains to infer butchering practices and butchering intensity (Binford, 1981(Binford, , 1985Chase, 1989;Stiner, 1991Stiner, , 1994Chase et al, 1994;Grayson andDelpech, 1994, 2003;Mellars, 1996;Marean, 1998;Marean and Kim, 1998;Marean and Assefa, 1999;Boyle, 2000;Burke, 2000a, b;Conard and Prindiville, 2000;Gaudzinski, 2000;Patou-Mathis, 2000;Costamagno et al, 2006). Referring to work with the Nunamuit, Binford (1988:127) states, "My experience suggests that the number of cut marks, exclusive of dismemberment marks, is a function of differential investment in meat or tissue removal.…”

Section: Zooarchaeological Assessment Of Nutritional Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-mediated shifts in Neandertal subsistence behaviors at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal (Dordogne Valley, France)

Hodgkins¹,

Marean²,

Turq³

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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Neandertals disappeared from Europe just after 40,000 years ago. Some hypotheses ascribe this to numerous population crashes associated with glacial cycles in the late Pleistocene. The goal of this paper is to test the hypothesis that glacial periods stressed Neandertal populations. If cold climates stressed Neandertals, their subsistence behaviors may have changed-requiring intensified use of prey through more extensive nutrient extraction from faunal carcasses. To test this, an analysis of Neandertal butchering was conducted on medium sized bovid/cervid remains composed of predominately red deer (Cervus elaphus), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), and roe deer (Capreolus caprelous) deposited during global warm and cold phases from two French sites: Pech de l'Azé IV (Pech IV, Bordes' excavation) and Roc de Marsal (RDM). Analysis of surface modification on high survival long bones and proximal and middle phalanges demonstrates that skeletal elements excavated from the cold levels (RDM Level 4, Pech IV Level I2) at each cave have more cut marks and percussion marks than elements from the warm levels (RDM Level 9, Pech IV Level Y-Z) after controlling for fragment size. At both sites, epiphyseal fragments are rare, and although this pattern can result from carnivore consumption, carnivore tooth marks are almost nonexistent (<0.1%). Alternatively, processing epiphyseal ends for bone grease may have been a Neandertal survival strategy, and epiphyses were more intensively percussed in cold levels than in warm levels at both RDM and Pech IV. The exploitation of low marrow yield elements such as phalanges does not show a consistent pattern relating to climate, but may have been a general Neandertal behavioral characteristic, suggesting that these hominids were regularly on the edge of sufficient nutrient availability even during interglacials. Overall, the faunal assemblages from Roc de Marsal and Pech IV provide some support for the hypothesis that Neandertals were processing faunal remains more heavily during glacial periods, suggesting a response to increased nutritional stress during colder time periods.

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Section: Zooarchaeological Assessment Of Nutritional Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-mediated shifts in Neandertal subsistence behaviors at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal (Dordogne Valley, France)

Hodgkins¹,

Marean²,

Turq³

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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“…4, 1997Todd 1987Villa 1977Villa , 1982Villa , 1983. In fact, it is quite difficult to rule out, or even identify and isolate, the effects of all of the various agents that can and do affect the integrity of an archaeological assemblage (see, for example, Chase et al 1994).…”

Section: Background To the Study Of Paleolithic Living Floorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Reality of a “Living Floor” with Archaeological Data

Dibble¹,

Chase²,

McPherron³

et al. 1997

Am. antiq.

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130

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No matter how “pristine” an archaeological assemblage may appear, archaeologists should always be concerned with documenting the degree and nature of possible postdepositional disturbances. This paper outlines a number of tests that can be applied to archaeological, vs. geological, data to assess these effects, and their use is illustrated in an excavation of a Lower Paleolithic site in France. Although this site was originally thought to contain a possible “living floor” reflecting relatively little postdepositional disturbance, the tests applied here clearly show that both the lithic and faunal components in large part reflect secondary deposits and most probably are only coincidentally associated. From a methodological perspective, this study clearly demonstrates the power of these tests for assessing the taphonomic history of any site containing lithic and faunal remains, and the use of this particular example illustrates the need for these kinds of tests to be applied at the time of excavation.

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“…C'est pourquoi, un certain nombre d'ajouts dans les méthodes de fouilles ont été apportés afin de collecter des données appropriées à la problématique et de répondre à plu-sieurs types de questions, c'est-à-dire l'importance de l'action des agents naturels (transport et classement du matériel par le cours d'eau et l'action des carnivores, l'intégrité de l'assemblage en terme de comportement (éventuelle exportation de supports et d'outils ou mélange résultant de plusieurs occupations), liens ou absence de liens entre la faune et les éléments lithiques (Chase et al, 1994).…”

Section: ■ L'environnement Végétalunclassified

Le gisement acheuléen de Cagny-l'Épinette (Somme)

Tuffreau¹,

Antoine²,

Chase³

et al. 1995

bspf

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steppic landscape interrupted by trees. The climatic conditions were close to those of an interglacial, from the Tardiglacial to the Early Glacial. The lithic industries are characterized by bifaces with various morphologies. The flaking and blank production indicate an opportunistic behaviour which did not develop any sophisticated operating scheme. On the whole non-standardized flake tools were badly manufactured : they mainly consist of notches and denti-culates. The big fauna is typical of the Middle Pleistocene one (Bos primigenius trochoceros, Equus caballus mosbachensis, Equus hydruntinus, Cervus elaphus, Dama...). Comparisons with other site fauna could be drawn. When the spatial distribution analysis is fully achieved there will be a better understanding of bones and flint artefacts. Résumé RESUMÉ Le gisement acheuléen de Cagny-Г Épi nette a une séquence archéologique incluse dans les formations flu-vi at i les fines de la nappe la plus récente du complexe de la "moyenne terrasse" du bassin de la Somme et à la partie inférieure de la couverture sablo-limoneuse sus-jacente. D'après les données palynologiques et pa-léontologiques, les occupations humaines, attestées par la présence de silex taillés et d'ossements d'animaux montrant des signes d'actions an-thropiques, se situent dans un paysage de steppes arborées correspondant à des ambiances climatiques proches de l'interglaciaire, allant du Tardiglaciaire au Début Glaciaire. Les industries lithiques se caractérisent par la présence de bifaces de morphologie variée. Le débitage et la production des supports témoignent d'un comportement opportuniste sans chaîne opératoire élaborée. L'outillage sur éclat, non standardisé, comprend surtout des pièces de mauvaise facture, essentiellement des encoches et des denticulés. La grande faune correspond à des espèces caractéristiques du Pleistocene moyen (Bos primigenius trochoceros, Equus caballus mosbachensis, Equus hydruntinus, Cervus elaphus, Dama...). Il a été possible d'établir des comparaisons avec les faunes d'autres gisements. Les études spatiales en cours permettront de mieux comprendre les relations entre les ossements et les silex taillés.Bulletin de la SOCIÉTÉ PRÉHISTORIQUE FRANÇAISE 1 995 / TOME 92, n° 2

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Taphonomy and Zooarchaeology of a Mousterian Faunal Assemblage from La Quina, Charente, France

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Climate-mediated shifts in Neandertal subsistence behaviors at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal (Dordogne Valley, France)

Climate-mediated shifts in Neandertal subsistence behaviors at Pech de l'Azé IV and Roc de Marsal (Dordogne Valley, France)

Testing the Reality of a “Living Floor” with Archaeological Data

Le gisement acheuléen de Cagny-l'Épinette (Somme)

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